US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced a new high-level team to coordinate measures taken by Washington against ran.
The group will be headed by Brian Hook as the State Department's Special Representative for Iran, Pompeo told a news conference on Thursday.
Hook who has pushed for tough action against Iran, has been leading the department's talks with allies in Europe and Asia to persuade them to support US sanctions and cut off Iran's oil supplies as of November.
The Iran Action Group will be responsible for directing, reviewing, and coordinating all aspects of the State Department’s Iran-related activity, and it will report directly to the State Department.
"Our hope is that one day soon we can reach a new agreement with Iran. But we must see major changes in the regime's behavior both inside and outside its borders,” said Pompeo.
“We are committed to a whole-of-government effort to change the Iranian regime’s behavior.”
He also referred to the US decision to impose sanctions on Iran after the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
“The regime in Tehran has been responsible for a torrent of violent and destabilizing behavior against the United States, our allies, our partners, and indeed the Iranian people themselves,” said Pompeo.
Hook said the Iran group would include experts from the State Department and Department of the Treasury.
"If the Iranian regime demonstrates a commitment to make fundamental changes in its behavior, the president is prepared to engage in dialogue in order to find solutions," he said in response to a question on Donald Trump’s offer to speak with Iranian leaders without preconditions.
"We have had teams from the State Department and the Treasury Department who’ve now visited, I want to say, 24 countries in most regions of the world. That work will continue in the coming months. And we have very good discussions with allies around the world, because when you look at the range of Iranian threats, especially around missiles and cyber, maritime aggression, terrorism, these are concerns of other nations," Hook said.
According to officials, Hook is expected to be replaced as director of policy planning by Kiron Skinner, a foreign policy academic who served on Trump's national security transition team and very briefly at the State Department after the president took office.
